Just had to have our roof, soffits and gutters replaced. The squirrels had made nests in the soffits. One day after the roofer replaced the soffits the mama squirrel had chewed a hole in two areas. Had to call a wildlife removal company and they noticed an active nest in one area and placed outside traps over the holes. One day later and look what I found..... Two baby squirrels in the trap and their mama was not happy! They finally dropped out and went along their merry way. Now the roofer needs to come back and repair what he already repaired.
Oops, I missed the last line of your post #1. Couldn't tell from the picture. Squirrels have been in the attic of my house, in the barn roof, and above the cabin ceiling. Maybe you need some black snakes. When I cut all the trees near the house they stopped. So far they haven't figured out how to climb up the side of the house. Fingers crossed.
@Nancy Hart Squirrels like GA, eh? In MO, we had them, or possibly packrats, never found out which, inside the walls and ceilings of our 100-year old farmhouse. Heard 'em crawling about in the night. I searched in vain trying to find their entry hole(s). The house had had a large room added on along one side having a flat roof. The original house roof, intact, was a "witch's hat" steep peak type, and the two roofs intersected obliquely in such a way that try as I might, I could not be assured I had found all possible places where they could enter. Perhaps they chewed their way in. Our concern was for fire, due to chewed through insulation, or death resulting in a stench. We never got either. And, never got rid of them. Frank
Yep, they will chew right through the electrical wiring to the bare wires. Even the hot wires. Squirrel damage to the cabin.
I had squirrels in my soffits in my last house I owned. I didn't want to close up the opening until I drove the squirrels out, so I blew mothballs into the soffits with my leafblower. I'd come home and the yard under the opening would be riddled with mothballs. I'd blow them back in; they'd throw them back out. We kept the Mothball Skirmish going on until I won.
Twirl a Squirrel From the poster: "He survived in good health and ran down the driveway in a straight line. "
So far so good...the Wildlife guy put a wire screen over both openings. Have not seen where they are trying to chew and get back inside the soffits. Fingers crossed!
Worse yet are chipmunks. Those little rats dressed in a Tuxedo can really damage even house wiring. My neighbor used to feed then until I showed him the damage they were doing.
I've been feeding squirrels on our fire escape balcony for more than ten years now and, so far, I haven't had any problems. With our metal roof, they don't seem to mess with the house, although they're all over the roof of the now-empty house next door. They might have been responsible for tearing up the clothes dryer duct a few years ago. It was one of those flexible, paper-thin (might have actually been paper) ducts that led from the dryer into the crawl space, then along the crawl space floor, venting through a circular hole in the foundation wall. Something tore the heck out of that, but it could have been one of my cats too. I have a screen on the outside of the vent now. We have mostly gray squirrels, although we see red squirrels every now and then. It's hard to tell the difference between a baby gray squirrel and red squirrel though because the gray squirrels are reddish in color when they are young. I see a chipmunk at the feeder once in a while, but the last chipmunk I saw was the dead one that Ella left for me at the back door. She's such a provider.
@Ken Anderson Dryer in back entryway, duct thin aluminum foil, goes behind through outside wall. One day, drum would not turn, even by hand. Jammed. Pulled unit away from wall, removed back cover plate, THIS: Jammed blower fan, locked up whole dryer. Dead. Could not get into house, but would have stunk to high heaven in time. Wormed it's way past louvers outdoors, through duct to blower: liked smell of drying clothes! 4-feet + long! Non-venomous. The desert continues to amaze us! Frank
Not tiny, at all. I have been in Maine since 2000, including a fair amount of time in the woods and so on, yet I have yet to see a snake in Maine. I know we have them, but I haven't seen one.